Cleaners at a Catholic school are to strike for 40 days and nights over a pay dispute.
Cleaners at La Retraite, a Catholic girls’ school in south London, have voted to strike over working conditions and unpaid wages, in what their union says will be the longest school cleaners’ strike in UK history.
The cleaners, all of whom are Latin American migrants, are demanding parity in terms and conditions with the school’s teachers, including full pay sick pay and a reversal to a reduction in their hours of work as well as trade union recognition.
La Retraite outsources its cleaning to a private contractor, Ecocleen. The cleaners’ union, United Voices of the World, reported that a number of its members have also had wages docked after they refused to work until a Covid risk assessment had taken place.
The union reported that some members had to turn to food banks and high interest loans to supplement the lost income.
In January Ecocleen agreed to pay its cleaners at La Retraite the London Living Wage, of £10.85 an hour, but a spokesperson for the union said that this did not make up for losing a month’s wages over the Covid dispute.
“Our members did not walk off the job for the sake of it, they refused to attend work because they rightfully feared for their safety, it was only after they took action that their concerns were addressed,” Kane Shaw told The Tablet.
“Our members’ wages are currently being withheld unlawfully, and their annual hours of work have been cut, at the behest of La Retraite, and this has resulted in an overall pay cut of approximately £150 per cleaner, so any so-called ‘increase’ to the London Living Wage is nothing more than a distraction from what has been a callous attack on our members’ pay during an extremely difficult time.”
The strike action is due to commence on 16 March, and a Crowdfund to support the workers during the action has already raised more than £2000.
Magalay Quesda, a migrant from Cuba who works at the school, said: “It was never our intention to go on strike, but I believe that our demands are fair and that anyone with a little empathy can understand where we’re coming from. They have left us no choice.
“They won’t listen to us, they won't talk to us, and they won’t treat us fairly so what other choice do we have than to strike if we want to be heard?”
Petros Elia, a UVW organiser, said: “This type of injustice may be commonplace in private, profit hungry companies but to see it in a Catholic School which has made an explicit commitment live by ‘Gospel values and the teachings of the church’ including ‘treating everyone equally and with justice’ shows that when it comes to the cleaners these are mere pious platitudes.”
Asked if he supported the cleaners’ industrial action against Ecocleen, the headmaster of La Retraite told The Tablet: “There are a number of inaccuracies in their press release and as far as I am aware there is no reason for strike action.”
In a statement Ecocleen said: “Ecocleen is fully committed to safeguarding the health and safety of all of our workers across every one of our sites during the Covid-19 pandemic. Since the start of the pandemic, we have undertaken the necessary Covid-19 risk assessment in line with the UK Government guidelines throughout the business, including at La Retraite.
“All of our workers deserve to be compensated for their services and hard work in these challenging circumstances, which is why we are pleased that, as of January 2021 and following La Retraite’s proposal, all cleaners on site are being paid the London Living Wage. We can also confirm that, since the start of the pandemic, Ecocleen has provided PPE equipment to all of our cleaners across all of our sites, to ensure the safe working practices of all of our valued employees.”
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